Hybrid components containing reactive hotmelt adhesives

ABSTRACT

Reactive hotmelt adhesives based on copolyamide can be used in hybrid components. These hybrid components find application in, for example, vehicle construction and aircraft construction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention describes the use of reactive hotmelt adhesives inhybrid components (structural components).

2. Discussion of the Background

Structural components are components with subordinate aestheticrequirements which are employed in the construction both of vehicles andof aircraft in the area of load-bearing parts and of force-accommodatingparts.

The structural components of the present invention are notable inparticular for the local reinforcements they have, which give thecomponent particular mechanical properties. The increase in torsionalrigidity with additional weight reduction is particularly noteworthy inthe present invention as compared with existing components.

The hybrid components described in the present invention are notable inparticular for the fact that they consist of an assembly of principallymetals with polymers. A polymer structure is inserted by means ofinjection moulding techniques into a metal component, and gives thecomponent the appropriate torsional rigidity and crash rigidity inaddition to comparatively low weight.

The weak point in conventional hybrid components to date has been theattachment of the polymer to the metallic material. Here, as a result ofcontraction and different expansion coefficients in the variousmaterials, disbonding of the constituents occurs, leading todeterioration in the mechanical properties. At the present time,conventional structure-forming hybrid components are produced byinjection-moulding a polymeric material into a metallic material. Theproblem with this physical join is the transition between the polymerand the metal, since the materials have different mechanical properties,leading to an adverse effect on the strength of the assembly, as aresult of shrinking of the polymer, for example, and hence likewiseadversely affecting the torsional rigidity of the components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioneddisadvantages of conventional structural elements.

This and other objects have been achieved by the present invention thefirst embodiment of which includes a process for producing a hybridcomponent, comprising:

-   -   bonding a metal to a polymer by a copolyamide-based hotmelt        adhesive; thereby obtaining said hybrid component comprising        said metal and said polymer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

The FIGURE shows the adhesion between metal and polymer with or withoutcathodic electrocoating (EC).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It has now surprisingly been found that by using reactive adhesives itis possible to overcome the disadvantages of conventional structuralelements.

The preliminary coating of the metallic component with constructivehotmelt adhesives based on laurolactam produces substantially betterattachment of the two constituents and an improved corrosion resistancein the hybrid components. This effect can be further enhanced if blockedisocyanates, which have a constructive action in terms of molecularweight, and epoxides, which act as cross-linkers and to promoteadhesion, are added to the hotmelt adhesive used. The constructiveeffect on molecular weight is promoted by the cathodic electrocoating(EC coating) needed for the component for corrosion protection, sincethe residence time of more than 25 minutes in electrocoating attemperatures above 150° C. generates the heightened cohesive strengthand adhesive strength required for these components. Under the statedtemperature loads, purely thermoplastic hotmelt adhesives undergothermal degradation and hence adversely affect the mechanical propertiesof the component. The hotmelt adhesive of the present invention displaysgenerally very good affinities with metallic materials, and is employedin the hybrid components as an adhesion promoter between the metal andthe polymer.

A further advantage of the hotmelt adhesive used according to thepresent invention is the improvement in corrosion resistance. Hithertothere were problems in the area of the connection between the metal andthe injection moulding compound. The low shrinkage of the polymer,described above, causing the formation of a small gap in which the ECelectrocoat is absent and so corrosion is produced on the untreatedmetal. The preliminary coating with the reactive hotmelt adhesivecompensates the shrinkage and prevents the formation of acorrosion-susceptible gap.

The present invention, then, involves applying a primer (hotmeltadhesive) to the metallic material that substantially improves theassembly and hence has a positive influence on the crash behaviour,which is required in particular in vehicle construction.

The primer is a laurolactam-based copolyamide having a fraction of 2.5%to 15% by weight, preferably 4% to 6% by weight, of blocked isocyanateand 2.5% to 10% by weight, preferably 4% to 6% by weight, of epoxideeach based on the weight of the laurolactam-based copolyamide. Theamount of blocked isocyanate includes all values and subvaluestherebetween, especially including 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7,7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 12.5, 13, 13.5, 14 and14.5% by weight. The amount of epoxide includes all values and subvaluestherebetween, especially including 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7,7.5, 8, 8.5, 9 and 9.5% by weight. These adjuvants create an assemblywith metallic materials that is substantially better than with purelythermoplastic copolyamides, and under the effect of temperature theyprovide for a constructive effect on molecular weight, whichsubstantially improves the temperature stability of the join. In oneembodiment, the duration of temperature exposure is important for theconstructive effect on molecular weight. An optimum has been found toencompass 150° C. to 190° C. for a period of 10 to 30 minutes, which areconditions typically applied in an EC oven. The temperature includes allvalues and subvalues therebetween, especially including 155, 160, 165,170, 175, 180 and 185° C. The time period includes all values andsubvalues therebetween, especially including 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24,26 and 28 min.

The hotmelt adhesives are not particularly limited as long as they arecopolyamide based. Preferably, the hotmelt adhesives are copolyamidesbased on laurolactam. Even more preferably, the hotmelt adhesives usedare, for example, the VESTAMELT grades from Degussa:

X1038-P1: 60% laurolactam+25% caprolactam+15% AH salt (mixture of 50%adipic acid and 50% hexamethylenediamine)

-   -   X1316-P1: 95% VESTAMELT X1038-P1+5% VESTAGON BF1540-P1    -   X1333-P1: 95% VESTAMELT X1038-P1+5% VESTAGON BF1540-P1+5%        Araldite GT7004

Features of the process of the present invention are that a metalprofile is first coated, over its full area or partially, with acopolyamide hotmelt adhesive, by means of electrostatic spray gun or byway of suitable coating systems, and then is heated at about 150° C.over a time of approximately 120 to 300 seconds, preferablyapproximately 150 seconds, in order to cause incipient melting of theadhesive. The heating time includes all values and subvaluestherebetween, especially including 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190,200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280 and 290 seconds. As thesubsequent step, a polymer structure is introduced by means of injectionmoulding technology. This structure-forming component then passesthrough an EC oven for coating. Preferably, the EC coating takes placeat approximately 190° C. for a time of approximately 30 minutes.

The hybrid components of the present invention find application invehicle construction, in the air-travel industry, in rail construction,etc; one typical application is in the sector of front ends (bumpers).

Having generally described this invention, a further understanding canbe obtained by reference to certain specific examples which are providedherein for purposes of illustration only, and are not intended to belimiting unless otherwise specified.

EXAMPLES

In order to illustrate the improvement in adhesion, tensile tests werecarried out on corresponding metal/plastic assemblies which had beenjoined using different VESTAMELT hotmelt adhesives. In order toemphasize the effect of temperature, samples were investigated bothbefore and after EC treatment (190° C., 30 min). Untreated specimenparts, without primer (hotmelt adhesive), had very low adhesion, which,as is shown in the FIGURE, could be substantially improved through theuse of polyamide hotmelt adhesives. This produced an enormousimprovement in the mechanical properties of later components, so that asubstantially greater importance was accorded to their use asstructure-forming components.

The metals ought to be degreased prior to coating, in order to start outwith uniform surfaces and to avoid a scatter in the adhesion values. Afurther advantage, for wetting, is the preheating of the metal parts to60 to 80° C.

German patent application 10 2006 002 125.8 filed Jan. 17, 2006, isincorporated herein by reference.

Numerous modifications and variations on the present invention arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A hybrid component comprising: a metalbound to a polymer with a laurolactam-based copolyamide hotmelt adhesivethat comprises 2.5% to 15% of blocked isocyanate and 2.5% to 10% ofepoxide, and a cathodic electrocoating (EC) over the surface of themetal bound to the polymer which is distinct from the hotmelt adhesive.2. The hybrid component of claim 1 that is made by a process comprising:binding a metal to a polymer with said laurolactam-based copolyamidehotmelt adhesive, and applying a cathodic electrocoating, which isdistinct from the laurolactam-based polyamide hotmelt adhesive, over thesurface of the metal bound to the polymer.
 3. The hybrid componentaccording to claim 2, wherein said process further comprises coatingsaid metal over its full area with said hotmelt adhesive using anelectrostatic spray gun or a suitable coating system, and sinteringincipiently at 150° C. 120 to 300 seconds.
 4. The hybrid componentaccording to claim 2, wherein said process further comprises partiallycoating said metal with said hotmelt adhesive using an electrostaticspray gun or a suitable coating system, and sintering incipiently at150° C. 120 to 300 seconds.
 5. The hybrid component according to claim2, wherein said process further comprises passing said hybrid componentthrough an EC oven for coating.
 6. The hybrid component according toclaim 2, wherein said process further comprises degreasing of saidmetal.
 7. The hybrid component according to claim 2, wherein saidprocess further comprises preheating of the metal to 60 to 80° C.
 8. Thehybrid component according to claim 2, wherein said process furthercomprises exposing said hybrid to a temperature of 150° C. to 190° C.for a period of 10 to 30 minutes in a cathodic electrocoating oven. 9.The hybrid component of claim 1 that is made by a process comprising:coating a metal with said hotmelt adhesive using a electrostatic spraygun to obtain a coated metal.
 10. The hybrid component according toclaim 1 that is made by a process comprising: coating said metal overits full area with said hotmelt adhesive using an electrostatic spraygun or a suitable coating system, and sintering incipiently at 150° C.120 to 300 seconds.
 11. The hybrid component according to claim 1 thatis made by a process that comprises: partially coating said metal withsaid hotmelt adhesive using an electrostatic spray gun or a suitablecoating system, and sintering incipiently at 150° C. 120 to 300 seconds.12. The hybrid component according to claim 1, that is made by a processthat comprises passing said hybrid component through an EC oven forcoating.
 13. The hybrid component according to claim 1, that is made bya process that comprises degreasing of said metal.
 14. The hybridcomponent according to claim 1, that is made by a process that comprisespreheating the metal to 60 to 80° C.
 15. The hybrid component accordingto claim 1, that is made by a process that comprises exposing saidhybrid component to a temperature of 150° C. to 190° C. for a period of10 to 30 minutes in a cathodic electrocoating oven.
 16. The hybridcomponent according to claim 1, that is made by a process comprising:coating a metal with said hotmelt adhesive using an electrostatic spraygun to obtain a coated metal; and binding the coated metal to a polymer;wherein said coated metal is heated at about 150° C. over a time ofapproximately 120to 300 seconds in order to cause incipient melting ofthe adhesive; and wherein said polymer is introduced by injectionmoulding, to obtain a structure-forming component which then passesthrough an EC oven for coating a temperature of 150° C. to 190° C. for aperiod of 10 to 30 minutes.
 17. A vehicle construction comprising thehybrid component of claim
 1. 18. A rail construction comprising thehybrid component of claim
 1. 19. An aircraft construction comprising thehybrid component of claim
 1. 20. A bumper comprising the hybridcomponent of claim 1.